Earthquakes. 163 



and leaden sky. The Lisbon shock came without a warn- 

 ing. Sudden changes of the weather, however, often oc- 

 cur after an earthquake. Since the great convulsion of 

 1797 the climate of the Valley of Quito is said to be much 

 colder. A heavy rain often follows a violent earthquake 

 in Peru. 



No amount of familiarity with earthquakes enables one 

 to laugh during the shock, or even at the subterranean 

 thunders which sound like the clanking of chains in the 

 realm of Pluto. All animated nature is terror-stricken. 

 The horse trembles in his stall ; the cow moans a low, mel- 

 ancholy tune ; the dog sends forth an unearthly yell ; spar- 

 rows drop from the trees as if dead ; crocodiles leave the 

 trembling bed of the river and run with loud cries into 

 the forest ; and man himself becomes bewildered and loses 

 all capacity. When the earth rocks beneath our feet (the 

 motion resembling, in the words of Darwin, " that felt by 

 a person skating over thin ice which bends imder the 

 weight of his body"), something besides giddiness is pro- 

 duced. We feel our utter insignificance in the presence 

 of a mysterious power that shakes the Andes like a reed. 

 But more : there is an awful sensation of insecurity. " A 

 moment (says Humboldt) destroys the illusion of a whole 

 life : our deceptive faith in the repose of nature vanishes, 

 and we feel transported, as it were, into a region of un- 

 known destructive forces." A judgment day seems im- 

 pending, and each moment is an age when one stands on a 

 world convulsed. 



