378 CALORIFICATION. 



from the remote situation of some of them, that 

 they must have occupied a circuit of 300 miles 

 in diameter. It is related by Gibbon, on the 

 authority of Ammianus, that the greatest part 

 of the Roman world was shaken by an earth- 

 quake, that the shores of the Mediterranean 

 were left dry by the sudden retreat of the sea, 

 that great quantities of fish were caught by 

 the hand, and large vessels were stranded on 

 the mud. This state of desiccation was of short 

 duration ; the tide soon returned with the 

 weight of an immense and irresistible deluge ; 

 the effects of which were particularly felt from 

 the Sicilian to the Egyptian shores. Large 

 boats were transported on the roofs of houses, 

 multitudes of people were swept away by the 

 reflux of the water, and it is supposed that not 

 less than 50,000 persons lost their lives in the 

 inundation. Although there are few countries 

 extant, that have escaped these dreadful shocks, 

 there are many countries situated in the same 

 latitude, that seem particularly exposed^ to 

 them. The island of Jamaica has suffered and 

 been ravaged by them more than any of the 

 West India islands. In the year 1692, niue- 

 tenths of the town of Port Royal, the metropo- 

 lis of that island, were destroyed by an earth- 

 quake, in less than the short space of two 

 minutes : the houses sunk 30 or 40 fathoms 

 deep, the earth opened and swallowed up num- 



