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I N V 



printing- 

 office*. 



Earth- 

 quakes at 

 Inverness. 



blished here some years ago, to which a polished iron- 

 work was afterwards added. Both are carried on to a 

 considerable extent The polished iron-work has been 

 brought to such perfection, that a drawing-room grate 

 was lately made of the value of 70 guineas. There is 

 an exti-nlitc upholstery ware-room here; and a coach- 

 maker's yard. A marble-cutter has also lately esta- 

 blished himself. 



There are two printing offices in Inverness, from 

 one of which a very useful provincial weekly paper is- 

 sues. Besides the general advantages resulting to-tho 

 community from its medium of advertisement, the 

 utility of public discussion has been no where more 

 happily manifested than in this journal, which, by af- 

 fording to individuals the means of pointing ont evils, 

 and of suggesting proper remedies, has been productive 

 of much reformation in the appearance of the town and 

 its environs, as well as in the management of its inte- 

 rests. 



It may perhaps be proper shortly to notice in this 

 place, the earthquake which was felt at Inverness, and 

 pretty universally over Scotland, at about a quarter be- 

 fore eleven o'clock on the evening of the 13th of Au- 

 gust 181G. At Inverness, it not only produced more 

 violent effects, but also created greater alarm than it 

 did any where else. It was announced, as is usual, by 

 that tremendous rumbling noise called by the Italians 

 rombo; and the shock is supposed to have lasted twen- 

 ty seconds. The bells in many houses rung for more 

 than a minute ; small birds were knocked down from 

 their perches, and killed ; and some of the inhabitants 

 who had retired to rest were shaken out of bed. The 

 concussion on the houses was dreadful, and inspired 

 such sudden terror, that they were all in a moment 

 evacuated. Infants were torn from the cradle by their 

 terrified mothers; and men, women, and children, of 

 all ages and ranks, many of them almost naked as they 

 had risen from their beds, were seen rushing into the 

 streets, amidst the most doleful female shrieks and la- 

 mentations. Under the dreadful apprehension of a se- 

 cond and more violent shock, returning perhaps to bu- 

 ry them under the ruins of their houses, the motley 

 and terror-struck groupes crowded in various streams, 

 through the different outlets, to the country, where 

 many of them remained all night in the fields. Partly 

 from fear, and partly from curiosity, few occupied their 

 beds or their homes until day-break, and many did not 

 return to them until next evening. By fortunate acci- 

 dent, the streets had been almost deserted on this night, 

 at an unusually early hour, and the violence of the con- 

 cussion was in a great measure over before the people 

 had time to crowd into them ; if it had been otherwise, 

 so very thick was the shower of large stones precipita- 

 ted from the chimney tops, as well as of slates and tiles 

 hurled in great numbers from the roofs, that if the 

 streets had not been tolerably clear at the time, many 

 dreadful accidents, and even deaths, must have occur- 

 red. Some of the stones were projected completely 

 across to the opposite side of the way. It is rather re- 

 markable, that it was rather from the newer houses 

 fragments were thus thrown ; many of the older having 

 entirely escaped this dilapidation. It was not however 

 until morning, that the most decisive proof of the vio- 

 lence of the shock was discovered. The beautiful spire 

 of the jail was observed to have been rent across at se- 

 veral feet from the top ; and the part above the crack 

 appeared twisted round several inches, in a direction 

 towards the north-west, so that the angle above the 

 fracture, instead of applying to tha below it, is now 



opposite to the bavelment. Three gentlemen, who at li>verne.- 

 the time of the earthquake happened to be approaching bll ' re - 

 Inverness from the west, when at a considerable dis- v ~"~iT * 

 tance from the town, distinctly heard tli large bell toll 

 twice, a circumstance entirely unnoticed amidst the 

 bustle, by those who were in the streets or houses of 

 the place. It appears to have been admitted by many 

 gentlemen of Inverness, who had resided long in the 

 West Indies, where such convulsions are frequent, that 

 they had never Jell a smarter shock. 



From January till the present period, October 1817, 

 there have been no less than five other shocks at Inver- 

 ness; oneof which was very violent, and generally feltover 

 the central and western parts of Scotland. (T . L. D.) 



IXVERNESS-SHIRE, the name of the-largest of 

 the counties of Scotland. 



The county of Inverness is about 9* miles in length i. N 

 from east to west, and about 50 miles at its greatest HAI. 

 breadth. It is bounded on the north by Ross-shire HISTORY. 

 and the Moray Firth ; on the east by Nairn, Moray, situation 

 Banff, and Aberdeen-shires ; on the south by Argyle and boun- 

 and Perth-shires ; and on the west by the Atlantic Junes. 

 Ocean. Besides this, which may be termed the conti- 

 nental part of it, a number of the Hebridean islands be- 

 long politically to the county. In considering the sur- 

 face of this extensive and important part of Great Bri- 

 tain, it will be convenient to begin with a description 

 of the grand outlines of its geography. 



The great Caledonian Glen, or, as it is denominated Geographi- 

 in Gaelic, Glen-mor-na-albin, is the most remarkable cal divisions. 

 feature in Inverness-shire. Running in a straight line 

 nearly from north-east to south-west, it divides the 

 county into two almost equal parts. It may perhaps 

 average somewhat less than a mile broad in the bottom, 

 but towards its summit level, it is in many places 

 scarcely a quarter of that width. The sides of the hills 

 rise so very abruptly on both hands, and the shapes of 

 their steep fronts seem so much adapted to one another, 

 that the least observing person can hardly travel along 

 its length, without the idea occurring that it must have 

 been produced by some vast and sudden convulsion. 

 The northern extremity of this extraordinary glen, 

 opens by the river Ness into the Moray Firth, and fol- 

 lowing it south-westwards from this point, we find it 

 occupied by Lochs Ness, Oich,-and Lochy, whence it 

 extends into the Western Ocean by that long inlet of 

 the sea called Loch Linnhe. In examining the straths 

 and glens tributary to this great one, we find that they 

 are eight in all ; of which number, (speaking in a ge- 

 neral manner,) four join it from the west north- west, 

 viz. Glen Urquhart, Glen Morriston, Glen Garry, and 

 the glen or strath of Loch Arkeg. The remainder come 

 into it from the east south-east, and are Stratherick, 

 Glen Gluoy, Glen Spean, and Glen Nevis ; the three 

 last situated in the district of Lochaber. Turning to 

 the west coast of the county, we find it broken by six 

 arms or bays of the sea, besides that of Loch Shtil, 

 there forming its southern boundary. These are Loch 

 Moidart, Loch Aylort, Loch-ananougal, Loch-na-gau), 

 Loch Nevish, and Loch Hourn. The fresh water lake 

 Loch Morrer, and several small glens, discharging in- 

 dependent streams into the Western Sea, tend still far- 

 ther to disturb the continuity of the mountains in this 

 part of the county. In the northern quarter of the shire, 

 we notice the great glen of Strath Glass with its tribu- 

 taries, running nearly north-east, and opening into the 

 firth of Beauly. To the south of the town of Inverness, 

 portions of Strath Nairn and Stradearn, or the strath of 

 the Findhorn, run through the county in a direction 



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