rose and sank like waves, horses and men were thrown to the 

 ground, and houses destroyed. Crevasse after crevasse opened 

 everywhere, rocks rent, and stone buildings and walls were torn in 

 pieces. At the same time an earthquake wave 20ft. high rolled in 

 foaming fury, along the shore, sweeping away 108 houses, and 

 drowning 46 people. For ten days the earth never ceased rocking 

 like a rocking chair, and trembling as if ague stricken." At last 

 a vent was found, the iiery flood rent open a fissure a mile in 

 length, from which it poured with terrific fury, forming four 

 vast fire- fountains, fluid as water, red as blood; these united 

 into one large stream of glowing lava a mile in length, which rushed 

 madly on to the sea, a distance of four miles, into which it dashed 

 with wild commotion of steam and fury (Gordon Gumming). There 

 is no known force, no disaster, not even the murderous invention 

 of man, by which so many lives are sacrificed in a short space of 

 time as by earthquakes (Humbolt). Naples, alone, in the course 

 of 75 years lost 11 l,OoO inhabitants out of a population of 600,000; 

 at the earthquake of Kiobamba nearly 40,000 people perished in 

 little more than a minute, and at Lisbon 60,000 were destroyed in 

 four minutes, 30,000 of whom were congregated in the different 

 churches. One in Sicily overturned 54 cities and towns and 300 

 villages. Of Catania and its 18,000 inhabitants not a trace re- 

 mained, and more than 100,000 lives were lost. In 1797 the whole 

 country between Santa Fe and Panama was destroyed, including 

 Cuzco and Quito, 40,000 people were buried in one second. In 

 1868 the cities of Arica, Arequipa, Quito, and eight other towns in 

 Peru were destroyed, 25,000 lives were lost, and 30,000 rendered 

 homeless ; the loss of property was estimated at 60 milhons. The 

 most heartrending scenes were witnessed at this last catastrophe, 

 the gronnd gaping and then again closing, so that many unfor- 

 tunates were caught by the throat or middle and squeezed to death 

 in sight of their agonised friends *nd relatives. Others could hear 

 the voices of those dearest to them on earth beneath the fallen 

 debris and masonry, gradually getting weaker day by day, while no 

 bribe could procure labour to liberate them, and feeble hands tore 

 in frantic agony at the immoveable blocks in futile efforts to rescue 

 the buried loved ones. Earthquakes have always been associated 

 in popular belief with a sultry, lurid, still state of the atmosphere, 

 and this so constantly that there must be some foundation for the 

 conviction. Yet Humboldt tells us he has experienced earthquakes 

 in fresh, bright weather, and with a brisk east wind blowing. 

 Although the fact is not yet well established, it would not be 

 surprising if volcanic eruptions were, more or less, dependent on 

 atmospheric conditions. We know that the expansion of gases 

 -depends largely on pressure, and that a fall of the barometer of 



