324 THE STORY-BOOK OF SCIENCE 



scribed to you her fright when her bed was shaken 

 twice. In all that there is nothing very terrifying; 

 but earthquakes are not always harmless. Alas, no ; 

 and may God preserve us from ever undergoing the 

 sad experience I" 



"Is an earthquake, then, very serious ?" Jules 

 again inquired. "For my part, I thought it only 

 meant a few plates broken and some furniture dis- 

 placed." 



"It seems to me," said Claire, "that if the move- 

 ment were strong enough houses would fall down. 

 But Uncle is going to tell us about a violent earth- 

 quake. ' ' 



"Earthquakes are often preceded by subterranean 

 noises, a dull rumbling that swells, abates, swells 

 again, as if a storm were bursting in the depths of 

 the earth. At this rumbling, full of menacing mys- 

 teries, every creature becomes quiet, mute with fear, 

 and every one turns pale. Warned by instinct, ani- 

 mals are struck with stupor. Suddenly the earth 

 shivers, bulges up, subsides again, whirls, cracks 

 open, and discloses a yawning gulf." 



"Oh, my goodness!" Claire exclaimed. "And 

 what becomes of the people?" 



"You will see what becomes of them in these ter- 

 rible catastrophes. Of all the earthquakes felt in 

 Europe, the most terrible was that which ravaged 

 Lisbon in 1775, on All Saints' Day. No danger ap- 

 peared to menace the festal town, when suddenly 

 there burst from underground a rumbling like con- 

 tinuous thunder. Then the ground, shaken vio- 

 lently several times, rose up, sank down, and in a 



