Dec. 8, 1882.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



457 



Ittttri to tt)t etiitou 



thily a small prc.p.--yti",\ of L'^ttt>i-s rereircd ran po.^si^Iy he in- 

 .-'erled. Correspondents miift not he offended, therefore, should their 

 letters not appear. "• 



All Editorial eommMnications should be addressed to the Editok of 

 Knowledge; all Business commvnications to the Pcblishers, at the 

 Omce, 74, Great Queen-street, W.C. If this is not attended to, 

 DELAYS ABISE FOB WHICH THE EDITOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE. 



All Remittances, Cheques, and Post Office Oitfers should he ynade 

 payable to Messrs. Wtjiax * Sons. 



The Editor is not responsible far the opinions of correspondents. 



XO COMMUNICATIONS ABE ANSWERED BY POST, EVEN THOCGH STAMPED 

 AND DIRECTED ENVELOPE BE ENCLOSED. 



" Let Knowledge grow from more to more." — Alfred Tennyson. 



EARTHQUAKES IN THE BRITISH ISLES. 



[652] — Permit me to mention one or two earthquakes which are 

 omitted in your articles. 



In 1134 an earthqnake occun-ed, and " flames of fire burst out of 

 certain ri'ts of the earth with great violence." 



1249-50. A shock overthrew St. Michael's-on-the-HiU, without 

 tilastonbnry, and did much damage at St. Alban's. It was also 

 felt in Somersetshire. At the same time, part of the town of 

 Winchelsea was swallowed up by the sea, and great damage was 

 done in the fens of Lincolnsliire. 



In 1328, on Nov. 14, occui-rcd '• the greatest earthqnake ever felt 

 in England." This remarkable statement rests solely on the 

 authority of Dr. Bascome, in whose work (" History of Epidemic 

 Pestilences") there is nnfortimately no reference to his source of 

 information. 



1330. In Ireland, accoixling to Short, an earthqnake caused the 

 'lemolition of cities, and great *' loss of people." 



1734. In August, 100 houses and five churches were destroyed in 

 Ireland. 



1749. A shock occurred at LeadhiUs (Scotland), which caused 

 l>eople to run out of their houses. This happened about the very 

 time that Lima was destroyed. 



1750. London was shaken by two earthquakes in this year. The 

 first occurred on Feb. 8, and, besides causing great alarm, over- 

 threw a chimney in Leadenhall-strest, another in Billiter-square, 

 part of a house near Horsleydo^vn, and a slaughter-house in South- 

 wark. The second took place on March 8, and, though more \-iolent 

 and of longer continuance than the other, did little damage beyond 

 breaking the chinaware in the shops, and bringing down some of 

 the stones from the towers (then nearly erected) of Westminster 

 Abbey. This latter .slu.ck was felt at Cheshunt, Hertford, Ware, 

 Copthall, and Bcckenham. It was these two shocks, following so 

 closely in succession, that caused the panic about a month later 

 (April 5), when many people passed the night in boats and 

 carriages. A third shock was felt at Xottingham, Retford, Scopton, 

 Tuxford, and elsewhere, on Aug. 23. 



-■Vllow me, in conclusion, to notice a slight anachronism in the 

 lirst paper (p. 340). An earthqnake is mentioned as having caused 

 some damage on the banks of the Thames in 1247, apparently on 

 the authority of Matthew Paris, and in the following paragraph 

 we are told that, in 12 IS, "the western parts of England were 

 shaken with an energy far exceeding anything which has been 

 known in recent times," the shock doing serious injury at 

 Bath and Wells. In reality, it was the former of these shocks, 

 that of 1247, that was the more serious. Short calls it 

 •' one of the greatest earthquakes ever felt in England," 

 and adds that it was most severe about London and Thames 

 side. How widespread it really was, is now hard to determine. 

 According to the Annals of Multifcman, the shock was felt 

 •' throughout the whole west." That might mean anything, bat 

 Hnnmer tells ns that it is the •• west of tlic world " that is meant. 

 Telcon (Ware's Annals), on the other hand, says that Ireland " ami 

 the rest of the world " was affected, while Ilorilegus asserts that 

 it was only England. From the reference made by Short to the 

 i-nrthqimko of 12 IS, it seems to have been a local one confined to 

 iho neighbonrhood of Bath and Wells. — Yours truly, 



.1. .\. Wfstwood Oi.ivkr. 



THE COMET. 

 [053]— I enclose a sketch of the comet as I observed it with a 

 pair of good field-glasses on Oct. 24 at 4.30 a.m. (local) at sea, in 

 lat. 32' 22' N., long. 31° 34' W. The comet, on this occasion, 

 showed an appearance which I had not noticed before. It appeared 

 to be enveloped in a cone of faint light, which at one end merged 

 into the tail, and at the other extended about half the length of the 

 tail bevond the nucleus, and gradually faded away. It seemed as 

 though particles were being actually swept from the tail by a 

 resisting medium. The sky was very' clear at the time, and there 



firmed by Ur. Copeland, of Uunei-ht, and others. The folded-over 

 appearance of the tail was also very marked, but this had been 

 noticed for some days. The southern edge of the tail was more 

 clearly defined than the northern. The comet was then near the 

 stars n and t' Hydrw. The following morning the moon was above 

 the horizon till daylight, so the apivarance was lost. 



Transit of Venus Expedition, J. H. TnoMsox, Lt. R.A. 



Barbadocs, Oct. 30, 1^82. 



