[ 401 ] 
confulted what means to take for their fafety. Whilil 
they were thinking of fome place of refuge, they 
were alarmed by a fliock much more violent than 
the former j which put them in fuch a confterna- 
tion, that they both ran precipitately to the other end 
of the drift. There was a miner working at the 
forjfield,, or eaft end of the vein, about hx fathoms 
below their level, who called out to them, imagining 
they were in danger of being killed by the fhafts 
running in upon them, which he fuppofed was the 
cafe ; and told them, if by any means they could 
get down the Ihaft to him, they would be more fe- 
cure, becaufe the cavity, where he was working, was 
encompafied with folid rock. They went down the 
fhaft to him, where, after obferving they had nei- 
ther of them received any misfortune, he told 
them, that the violence of the fecond fhock was fo 
great, that it caufed the rocks to grind one upon 
another. His narration was interrupted by a third 
fliock ; and, after an interval of about four or five 
minutes, was fucceeded by a fourth • and about the 
fame fpace of time after, by a fifth ; none of which 
were lb violent as the fecond. They heard after 
every Ihock a loud rumbling in the bowels of the 
earth, which continued for about half a minute, gra- 
dually decreafing, or appearing at a greater diflance. 
They imagined, that the whole fpace of time, from 
the firft fliock to the laid, was about twenty minutes ; 
and they tarried about ten minutes in the mine after 
the laid fliock j when they thought it advifeable to 
examine the paffages, and to get out of the mine, if 
poffible. As they went along the drifts, they obferved, 
that feveral pieces of minerals were dropped from 
VoL. 45). F f f the 
