VOL. L.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. (JS 



or an undulation, resembling that of a long rolling, swelling sea ; and the swell 

 was so great, that a person was obliged to run and catch hold of something, to 

 prevent being thrown down. The tops of 2 trees close by him, one of which is 

 25, the other 30 feet high, he thinks waved at least 10 feet ; and there were 2 of 

 these great wavings, succeeded by a smaller one. This sort of motion, after 

 having thus continued about a minute, abated a little ; then presently the shock 

 came on again with redoubled noise and violence ; though the species of it was 

 altered to a tremor, or quick horizontal vibratory motion, with sudden jerks and 

 wrenches. The bed, on which Mr. W. lay, was now tossed from side to side; 

 the whole house was prodigiously agitated ; the beams cracked, as if all would 

 presently be shaken to pieces. When this had continued about 2 minutes, it 

 began to abate, and gradually kept decreasing, as if it would be soon over ; how- 

 ever, before it had quite ceased, there was a little revival of the trembling and 

 noise, though not comparable to what had been before : but this presently de- 

 creased, till all by degrees became still and quiet. Thus ended this great shock. 

 It was followed by another about an hour and a quarter after, viz. at 5^ 29™. 

 This, though comparatively small, was very generally perceived, both as to its 

 noise and trembling, by those who were awake. On the Saturday evening follow- 

 ing, viz. the 22d of November, at 27"^ after 8, there was a 3d, more considerable 

 than the 2d, but not to be compared with the first. And on Friday the 1 9th of 

 Dec. in the evening, exactly at 10 o'clock, there was a 4th shock, much smaller 

 than either of the former, though like them preceded by the peculiar noise of an 

 earthquake. The whole lasted but a few seconds ; but the jarring was great 

 enough to cause the window-shutters and door of the room to clatter. And the 

 course of it was nearly from n.w. to s.e. 



An account received from the West-Indies, agrees very well with the supposi- 

 tion that the earthquake proceeded south-eastward. The account is, that 

 " on the 1 8th of November, about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the sea withdrew 

 from the harbour of St. Martin's, leaving the vessels dry, and fish on the banks, 

 where there used to be 3 or 4 fathom water ; and continued out a considerable 

 time ; so that the people retired to the high land, fearing the consequence of its 

 return ; and when it came in it rose 6 feet higher than usual, so as to overflow 

 the low lands. There was no shock felt at the above time." As this extraordi- 

 nary motion of the sea happened about 9*^ after our great shock, it seems very 

 likely to have been occasioned by the same convulsion of the earth. Now if this 

 earthquake went off south-eastward into the Atlantic, it must have passed consi- 

 derably to the eastward of St. Martin's ; and in fact it did not reach that island, 

 there being no shock felt there. The motion of the sea then was owing to a 

 great agitation raised at a considerable distance in some part of the ocean, where 

 the earthquake passed, and ttience was propagated to that island. Nor is the 



