3710 
first shock was felt, the thermometer was 
wt 77° in the house, probably at 749 out 
ef doors. At two A.M. of the Sth, 
thermometer 68° in the apen air; baro- 
‘meter at five P.M. on the same day 29° 
8’ Wind west with rain; the sight very 
dark. Next morning there was a very 
strong wind from the westward and seme 
sam. Several meteors or falling stars 
were observed during the night of the 
4th, with a very luminous aurora au- 
stralis, The ships in the bay, although 
the water was not apparently agitated, 
were so strongly affected by the shocks, 
that several men ov board them were 
thrown out of their hammecks. I ap- 
prehend that nearly one-fourth of. the 
houses in Cape Town are more or less 
damaged. Several pillars, uris, and 
other ornaments, have been destroyed, 
As yeti have heard ef only one house 
that was entirely thrown down; but a 
great many have lost portions of their 
walls,andare eracked from top to bottom. 
The house which was demolished, was 
at some litrle distance from the town. 
The inhabitants in general forsook their 
houses during the whole night of the 4th, 
and so great was their consternation, 
that implicit. credit was given to a very 
absurd prognostication, thatsimilar shocks 
would be felt the next might. Of the 
Duich inhabitants, 1 believe, not one 
went to bed before day-light. Tents 
were pitched in the parade, in the market, 
and in all the open places, and those who 
could not procure tents had their waygons 
brought out and sat upin them. We 
have as yet received no particular ace 
counts from the country; but innume- 
rable. vague reports arein cireulation ; 
and the iuhabitan:s ef the town, who are 
extremely susceptible of alarm, give cre- 
dit to them all.. One child of eight years 
eld dropped down. in tle-street, and in- 
stantly expired through terror. Two or 
three persons have been deprived of 
speech, and several others are suffering 
Patents lately Enrolled. 
[May 1, | 
extremely in various ways, from tlie effeet 
of extreme fear, Some are so much in- 
timidated by this unexpected visitation, 
as seriously to talk of selling their houses 
and property here, and removing to Ba- 
tavia, ‘This powerfal operation of terror 
on their minds, may probably appear as. 
tonishing to Europeans; but itis to be 
considered, that the inhabitants of this 
climate have been hitherto totally ex- 
empted froin the trensendous convulsions 
of nature, which are frequently expe- 
rienced in other quarters of the globe. 
— December 7. . We now find that the 
shocks, viglent, as they were, have not 
been felt_at the hot baths, about eighty 
miles to the eastward, norat sea, a5 we 
learn by the Camel, which ship arrived 
yesterday. It has been.generally re- 
inarked that a great many watches stop- 
ped, and several lost from two to ten, 
and even twelve and. fifteen, . hours. 
Within the last half-hour, we have had 
another slight shock. The inbabitants 
sull continue in a considerable degree of 
alarm, and every unusual noise is dreaded 
as the forerunner of an earthquake. The 
following has been the state of the wear 
ther since the above-mentioned shock 
occurred :— ; 
Bess > Kaiiome pe Bari Ther. ‘Wind: 
01100 545... Pubes O° OGl. ce oe 
8 20 — A.M. — — — ——— 
~ 5 $80 AM. — — — —— 
= ji8, 10» PLM... BOS 4a Aol Sie 
9.,6 — P.M. 30°— 73 —~ 
10 -— — — _ 29975’ 76 ——= 
No shock since the slight one of the 7th. 
Weather clear, except occasionally a 
fleecy cloud about the Table Mountain, 
aurora australis very strongat night, and 
many falling stars, | [t was remarked that 
animals, particularly horses, were much 
frightened at the shocks. Several moles 
are reported to have left their holes and 
fled into the soldiers’ tents at Wynberg, 
about seven miles from this place.” ~ 
PATENTS LATELY ENROLLED. ) 
=e 
WR. MARC ISAMBARD BRUNEL’S' (PoRT- 
sea), for an Invention of a new Mode 
of culting Veneers or Thin Boards, by 
Machinery. 
% & 7 iT this gentleman’s inventions, 
Vi the readers of the Monthiy Ma- 
gazine are not unacquainted. ‘The blocks 
iow used in the pavy are, we believe, 
all furnished By Mr. Isambard, who ob- 
tained some years since a patent for eute 
ting them out and completely finishing 
them by means of Ins circular saws, and 
other machinery, fitted up, and constantly 
at work, in the yard at Portsmouth. 
The object of the present patent, is to 
cut out veneers or thin beards; which is 
done by means of a sharp instrument, 
forming part of an engine which is. fully 
. ‘ described 
