EARTHQUAKES. 247 



Yet the annals of earthquakes are sufficient to give 

 rise to a feeling of dread, founded, not merely on the 

 novelty of the event, but on a knowledge of the powers 

 of the earth's internal heavings. The narratives of 

 some of the great earthquakes afford fearful evidence 

 on this point. 



In the first shock of the great earthquake of Lisbon 

 (November, 1755) the city was shaken to its founda- 

 tions. The houses were swung to and fro so violently 

 that the upper stories fell at once, causing a terrible 

 loss of life. Thousands rushed to the great square in 

 front of St. Paul's Church, to escape the reach of the 

 tottering ruins. It was the festival of All Saints, and 

 all the churches had been crowded with worshippers. 

 But when the terrified inhabitants reached the square 

 they found that the great church of St. Paul's was 

 already in ruins, and the immense multitude which 

 had thronged its sacred precincts were involved in its 

 destruction. Such of the congregations of the different 

 churches as had escaped rushed to the banks of the 

 Tagus for safety. There were to be seen priests in 

 their sacerdotal vestments, and an immense crowd of 

 people of all ranks and ages, praying to Heaven for 

 mercy. As they prayed there came the second shock, 

 scarcely less terrible than the first. The church on the 

 top of St. Catherine's Hill was rocked to and fro till it 

 fell, crushing in its fall a great multitude which had 

 sought that height for safety. 



But a far more terrible catastrophe was at hand. As 

 the banks of the river resounded with the Miserere of 



