15 



scene of desolation and sorrow. That thick 

 cloud of dust, which, rising above the ruins, 

 darkened the sky like a fog, had settled on the 

 ground. No shock was felt, and never was a 

 night more calm, or more serene. The Moon, 

 nearly full, illumined the rounded domes of the 

 Silla, and the aspect of the sky formed a perfect 

 contrast to that of the earth, covered with the 

 dead, and heaped with ruins. Mothers were 

 seen bearing in their arms their children, whom 

 they hoped to recall to life. Desolate families 

 wandered through the city, seeking a brother, 

 a husband, a friend, of whose fate they were 

 ignorant, and whom they believed to be lost in 

 the crowd. The people pressed along the 

 streets, which could no more be recognized but 

 by long lines of ruins. 



All the calamities experienced in the great 

 catastrophes of Lisbon, Messina, Lima, and 

 Riobamba were renewed on the fatal day of the 

 26th of March, 1812. " The wounded, buried 

 under the ruins, implored by their cries the help 

 of the passers by, and nearly two thousand were 

 dug out. Never was pity displayed in a more 

 affecting manner ; never had it been seen more 

 ingeniously active, than in the efforts employed 

 to save the miserable victims, whose groans 

 reached the ear. Implements for digging, and 

 clearing away the ruins were entirely wanting ; 

 and the people were obliged to use their bare 



