158 
SECOND EARTHQUAKE, 
2 June, 
I hastened out of doors to ascertain what had happened ; but 
when I came into the street, and beheld all the inhabitants rushing 
out of their houses in wild disorder and fright ; some pale and trem- 
bling, running up and down, unconscious whither they were going ; 
mothers distracted at not finding their children with them ; and 
every one with terror depicted in his countenance, crowding into 
the open street; when I beheld this, I instantly guessed that an 
earthquake had happened, for no answer could be got from those to 
whom I addressed the question ; fright prevented their hearing what 
was said. As soon as this conviction gains possession of the mind, 
our sensations, which, till then, may have been only those of sur- 
prise, assume a new and peculiar character. To those born in a 
country where these convulsions of nature happen frequently, such 
an occurrence as this may perhaps occasion little uneasiness : but to 
others who, for the first time in their lives, feel that the ground they 
walk upon is not immoveable, an earthquake, with all the dangers 
which may possibly accompany it, is an event which cannot fail to 
excite considerable alarm. Every body stood for a while in dreadful 
expectation of the catastrophe. Nothing could be more distressing 
than to witness the terror of the women ; some in tears, others 
trembling and speechless, and none seeming to know what they were 
about, or where they were. All had fled out of their houses with the 
utmost precipitation, without hats or bonnets, just as they hap- 
pened to be dressed at the moment : and I believe that every indi- 
vidual inhabitant of Cape Town, men, women, and children, ex- 
cepting those who from infirmity were unable to move, was, at that 
time, out in the street. There, all remained for at least an hour ; and 
many for the whole day. As soon as the second explosion was 
over, the air immediately resumed its former tranquillity, nor was 
any other change perceptible, more than that of its becoming shortly 
afterwards a little cooler. Finding no further shock succeed, the 
inhabitants gradually recovered from their first alarm, and from 
the general confusion : the crowds slowly became thinner ; yet 
still the greater number, afraid to trust themselves within their 
