VOL. XLIX.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 657 



ever been known in the memory of man, excepting the last spring : the summer 

 has been cooler than usual, and for the last 40 clays, fine clear weather, but not 

 remarkably so. On the first instant (Nov. 1 755,) about 40 minutes past g in the 

 morning, was felt a most violent shock of an earthquake : it seemed to last 

 about the 10th part of a minute, and then came down every church and con- 

 vent in town, together with the King's palace, the magnificent opera-house, 

 joining to it ; in short, there was not a large building in town that escaped. Of 

 the dwelling houses, there might be about one-fourth of them that tumbled, which, 

 at a very moderate computation, occasioned the loss of thirty thousand lives. 

 The shocking sight of the dead bodies, with the shrieks and cries of those who 

 were half buried in the ruins, are only known to those who were eye-witnesses. 

 It far exceeds all description, for the fear and consternation was so great, that the 

 most resolute person durst not stay a moment to remove a few stones off the 

 friend he loved most, though many might have been saved by so doing : but 

 nothing was thought of but self-preservation; getting into open places, and 

 into the middle of streets, was the mot probable security. Such as were in the 

 upper stories of houses, were in general more fortunate than those that at- 

 tempted to escape by the doors ; for these were buried under the ruins with the 

 greatest part of the foot-passengers : such as were in equipages escaped best, 

 though their cattle and drivers suffered severely ; but those lost in houses and 

 the streets, are very unequal in number to those that were buried in the ruins 

 of churches ; for as it was a day of great devotion, and the time of celebrating 

 mass, all the churches in the city were vastly crowded, and the number of 

 churches here exceeds that of both London and Westminster; and as the 

 steeples are built high, they mostly fell with the roof of the church, and the 

 •tones are so large, that few escaped. 



Had the misery ended here, it might in some degree have admitted of re- 

 dress ; for though lives could not be restored, yet the immense riches that were 

 in the ruins, might in some part have been digged out : but the hopes of this 

 are almost gone, for in about 2 hours after the shock, fires broke out in 3 

 different parts of the city, occasioned by the goods and the kitchen-fires being 

 all jumbled together. About this time also the wind, from being perfectly calm, 

 sprung up a fresh gale, which made the fire rage with such fury, that at the end 

 of 3 days all the city was reduced to cinders. Indeed every element seemed to 

 conspire to our destruction ; for soon after the shock, which was near high 

 water, the tide rose 40 feet higher in an instant than was ever known, and as 

 suddenly subsided. Had it not so done, the whole city must have been laid 

 under water. As soon as we had time for recollection, nothing but death was 

 present to our imaginations. For 1st, the apprehensions of a pestilence from 

 the number of dead bodies, and the general confusion, and want of people t(» 



VOL. X. 4P . 



