[ 615 3 
good deal of motion was taken notice of in thofe of 
the lakes. For three days the waters rofe from under- 
ground in the lower apartments of the houfes fituated 
near the eaft gate. The fprings, which water the 
lands in the country, became more copious. 
On the 28th of December at fix o’clock, accord- 
ing to the Italian way of reckoning, a flight earth- 
quake was felt at Padua. 
On the 8 th of March, at half an hour after eleven 
in the morning, in the French way of reckoning, as 
I was reading at my table in an apartment fituated in 
the third ftory very high, as you know, I felt two 
fhocks directed from above downwards, but they 
were very flight. 
Some time before I had taken the precaution to 
obferve in a more fenfible manner the earthquakes, 
which might happen. 
I had faflened to an iron bar, fixed in a very thick 
wall, a brafs wire difpofed into a fpiral line, at the 
extremity of which hung a leaden bullet of about a 
pound weight. I made ufe of a fpiral wire in order 
that I might the more eafily remark the leaf! motion, 
which fhould happen from above downwards. It 
hangs near the table, on which I write. When the 
two fhocks, which I have mentioned, happened on 
the 8th of March, I faw diftindtly the leaden bullet 
at the end of the brafs wire rife and fall at different 
times. There was fix minutes after another flight 
fhock, which gave the wire an ofcillatory motion 
from fouth to north. The wind was then fouth. 
The thermometer was in the morning, at half an hour 
after feven, at y degrees and a half above the freez- 
ing point, and at two in the afternoon at 10 degrees. 
4 I 2 The 
