c>3: 
The night, in which this earthquake happened, 
was perfectly calm and ferene. In the evening there 
was a fog over the marfhes bordering on the river 
Charles, which runs through this town : but this I 
found intirely diffipated at the time of the earth- 
quake, the air being then quite clear, and the moon, 
which wanted but 36 h of the full, filming very 
bright. The earthquake began with a roaring noife 
in the N.W. like thunder at a diftance ; and this grew 
fiercer, as the earthquake drew nearer ; which was 
almolb a minute in coming to this place, as near as 
I can colied: from one of my neighbours, who was 
then on the road in this town. He tells me, that, 
as foon as he heard the noife, he flopt, knowing, 
that it was an earthquake, and waiting for it ; and 
he reckoned he had flood flill about 2', when the 
noife feemed to overtake him, and the earth began 
to tremble under him : but, as I doubted, whether it 
were fo long, I counted feveral numbers to him as 
ilowly as a clock beats feconds ; and then he faid, 
he believed he could have counted half an hundred, 
at that rate, before the noife and fhake came up to 
him. By his account, as well as that of others, the 
firfl motion of the earth was what may be called a 
pulfe, or rather an undulation ; and refembled (to 
ufe his own companion) that of a long rolling, 
lwelling fea $ and the fwell was fo great, that he 
was obliged to run and catch hold of lomething, to 
prevent being thrown down. The tops of two trees 
clofe by him, one of which is 2f, the other 30 feet 
high, he thinks waved at lead ten feet (and I depend 
on his judgment in this particular, becaufe he judged 
right of the height of the trees, as I found by a&ual 
menftua- 
