Thefe circumftances feem to fa vour the fuppofition of earthquakes being caufed by electricity; but it is only from a collection of numerous facts, that any rational theory can be formed on the subject.'

From Wirksworth, in the fame county, (Derbyshire) two letters refpecting the earthquake were received from the rev. Abraham Bennet, F.R.S. of which here follow extracts. The first letter is dated November 19.

About twenty minutes past eleven o'clock laft night, the fhock of an earthquake was perceived in this town, and, as I have been informed, at Derby, Ahover, Bakewell, Winfter, and other neighbouring villages. I happened to be in bed at the time, and was awakened by a noife, which I first fuppofed to be like the roaring of a chimney on fire, then thought it was a carriage in the ftreet, and fhould not have fufpected an earthquake; but this morning I was told that many perfons had been much alarmed, faid they heard a noise resembling the falling of a chimney, and went out to examine whether, that was the cafe. A perfon just arrived from Derby, fays, that a ball of fire was seen to pafs over the town, at the time the noife was heard. Many faid their beds fhook, and that they felt fomething like an electrical fhock At Derby fome bricks were thrown down from chimnies. The noife was also defcribed as refembling the drawing of a table over a floor, with a louder explosion at the last.

The wind had blown violently from the fouthweft all day, but became calm in the evening, and the fky cleared. At the time the earthquake happened it was remarked that the air became very cold; and this morning the ground was covered with

In his fecond letter, dated Dec. 21, Mr. Bennet fays; I have been at Derby, and made inquiry about the ball of fire faid to have been feen there, but could obtain no account of any thing more than that feveral perfons, who happened to be out, perceived a flash of light, which they defcribed as being like an opening of the sky. I had written to Mr. Chatterton to make every inquiry he could, but he heard nothing more than this, befide what was obferved by others. I wrote alfo to Mr. Watfon, of Bakewell, who fays he had been in bed about a quarter of an hour, when he was altonished by a hufhing rumbling noife, and was immediately fhook in bed, by a lifting up, of firft his head, and then his feet, three times in about three feconds; his bed standing fouth and north, he thought it came from the fouth. At an inn there the fervants were frightened by the glaffes fhaking upon a table; fome gentlemen, in another room, felt nothing of it. One perfon at Bakewell obferved a flash of light like lightning; and Mr. Buxton's houfe, (at Bakewell) which ftands upon a limestone rock, was fhook till his bell rung.

The Rev. Mr. Peach, of Edenfor, was fhook in bed, and heard a noise in his room, like the collifion of twa ftones.

fell.'

At Chesterfield fome chimnies

The county of Nottingham, however, appears to have been that in which the earthquake was most fe verely felt. From that county two very circumftantial accounts of it have been received; one of them from the Rev. Edward Gregory, in a letter dated Langar, December 12, as follows;

I was, on the 18th of November, at Wollaton, (the feat of lord Middleton) about three miles to the weft of Nottingham, where I felt the shock of the earthquake. A violent gale of wind, which blew from the fouthweft, raged with uncommon fury all the morning, and brought on heavy rain about noon; the ftorm ftill continuing with unabated violence. About three o'clock the wind changed to northwelt, and the tempeft prefently fubfided. The clouds now feparated, and formed themselves, on the northern quarters of the horizon, into thofe very large white mountainous clouds which, in the fummer months, generally precede a thunder ftorm. About funfet these clouds were very much difperfed; the air became clear, felt fharp and elaftic, and every appearance of a froft came on in the northern parts of the sky. When the company affembled in the fouth drawing-room, previous to dinner, my attention was much struck with the afpect of the fky in the south and foutheast quarter; in this direction, a cloud, very black and lowering, extended itself over this part of the hemifphere. The margin of the cloud, which was nearly parallel to the horizon, was fringed, to the extent of at leaft forty degrees, from the fouth toward the east, and to the breadth of perhaps a degree and a half, with a very bright white light, which had very much the appearance of white fatin. This light was fhaded, to its whole extent, as it were with a veil of a deep muddy purple colour. The white light, seen below this gloomy purple haze, and farther contrafted by the very dark furface of fo extenfive and lowering a cloud, formed a very striking appearance; fo much fo as to induce me to call lord Middleton, and others of the company, to the window, to look at it, and to remark to them, that the very angry and troubled afpect of the fky led me to apprehend we should have more of the tempeft in the courfe of the night. I will here remark that it was now near five o'clock; the fun

was gone down too low to caft any confiderable degree of light on the clouds near the western horizon, much lefs could he illuminate any cloud fo low in the foutheast as this was with fo bright a light. The moon, indeed, was near the western extremity of this cloud; but its light, even had it been a full moon, (whereas it yet wanted more than twenty four hours of being in the firft quarter) was far too weak to caft on the margin of the cloud fo intenfe a light, and that to fo great an extent along it. For these reasons, I was fully perfuaded that this luminous appearance was occafioned by electric light, with which I concluded the cloud to be highly charged. We went down ftairs to dine, and returned again to this room about eight o'clock, to pafs the evening; I then looked again at the sky; every extraordinary appearance had now vanished, the night was dark and gloomy, the air quite calm and mild. At between twenty and twenty-five minutes after eleven o'clock, we were all extremely furprifed and alarmed at a fudden blast, (fo I fhould term it, rather than explofion, because it had not that fharp, compreffed elastic tone I annex to the idea of an explosion) which burst out inftantaneoufly, fomewhat below the zepith, to the weft; and, as I conje&tured from the direction in which the found was heard, feemed to rush through the air toward the east with great velocity, and to meet with confiderable efistance to its motion; for it made a whizzing noise as it paffed over us.

At the inftant the blaft burft out, it was accompanied with a very loud, deep-toned, hollow, fullen found, not altogether unlike a deep groan. We were all amazed at this hideous noife; fome thought the window of the great room (that in the centre tower over the hall) had fallen in: every one of us thought fome bad accident must have happened to fome part of the building. While we were all forming our various conjectures, I, who fat clofe to the wall, (a north wall) leaning with my arm and shoul

der on the furbafe, felt myself fhoved from it, and my chair fhaken under me, with a very quick tremulous motion. All the company (eight or ten) felt the fame fenfation from the fhock; which was fo forcible, that fome thought I had fallen from my chair on the floor, and had occafioned the concuffion they felt; when they faw this was not the cafe, they then imagined the fervants in the dining room below us, in removing the tables, had thrown down one of them. When I felt the wall shake, I had no doubt it was an earthquake, and I told the company fo; but that it was now over, and we were all fafe, and had no reafon to be farther alarmed. I had fcarcely uttered these words, when we were fhaken again. This fecond fhock was more undulatory than the firft; at this time I was ftanding, and felt myself lifted up a little, as the fhock paffed along. We were all now under great apprehenfions, left other and more violent fhocks might fucceed thofe we had already felt; but after a few minutes had elapfed, without our perceiving any thing more, our alarm fubfided. Such of the company as had withdrawn returned to us, to inquire what could be the caufe of the ftrange noife, and the fhocks which fucceeded it; not being yet aware that it was an earthquake. I have already mentioned the time the blaft was heard; the firft fhock of the earthquake came on, as near as I can guefs, about a minute after it; and the fecond fhock fucceeded the firft at the interval of twenty feconds. I went down to the fleward's room, and fervants' hall, to inquire what was felt of the earthquake, and whether they faw any light at the time they heard the blaft. They faid they faw no light whatever, but that the fhock caufed the glaffes to dance upon the table, in fuch a manner that they imagined fomebody was drumming under the table with their knees. I then went into the garden, to look at the fky; it continued much as it was at eight o'clock, dark and gloomy, without

any particular appearance; the air was quite calm, and mild. When I got up in the morning, I was furprifed to fee the country covered with fnow; the trees in the park were loaded with it; I believe no morning in the laft winter could have prefented more appearance of extreme fevere weather. My man flept at Nottingham; at the house where he was, the earthquake was fo violent as to cause the chamber bells to ring. I inquired of two foldiers belonging to the barracks, fituate on the high ground in the park near that town, what was felt of the earthquake there. They told me the fhocks were very ftrong, fo much fo as to alarm them greatly, and to shake the plates off the shelves. I farther inquired whether any blaze of light, or ball of fire, was feen when they first heard the blaft, or during the fhocks of the earthquake. They faid, that no light was feen at either of thefe periods, nor did the centinel on guard perceive any fingular appearance whatever.

'Here, in the vale of Belvoir, most people were in bed, and were awakened by the fhocks, which they describe to me, as raising up the bed, and then fhaking it; fo that at firft they thought fomebody had hid themselves under the bed, and was playing tricks to frighten them; but, when they heard the doors rattle violently, the plates on the fhelves move, glass, china, &c. jar together, they were aware that the caufe of all this was an earthquake. Very few were awakened by the blast, and none I have converfed with faw any meteor, or other appearance of light. The fhock was fo ftrong at Colfton Baffet (two miles from Langar) as to fhake a fmall dog off the bed on which it flept. Bricks, fuch as were most likely ready to fall by the first gutt of wind, were shaken off the chimnies. Some fmall part of the bank of the canal near Redmile was thrown back again into the canal; which is fuppofed to have been done by the earthquake, the bank having been in an uninjured ftate the pre

ceding evening. Concerning the direction of the shocks, people here do not accord; this is not to be wondered at, as most of them were awakened out of their fleep, and could not collect their thoughts together foon enough to afcertain this circumftance, In general, those who were awake, previous to the fhocks, feem confident they came from the r.ortheast, but many think they came from the fouth. The firft fhock felt to me fo tremulous that I could not form any judgment concerning its direction; my chair was fhaken with a kind of vertiginous motion. The fecond fhock feemed to come from the north, perhaps a few points to the weft of it.

. When I heard the blaft burst out, and rush on, with a whizzing noise, through the air, I immediately concluded that fome, electric meteor (which, I fuppofed, took fire at that time) was the caufe which produced that alarming difmal found which we heard; and that the concuffion in the atmosphere, being communicated to the earth, had fhaken it with fuch forcible agitations as to caufe the fhocks of the earthquake. The clouds on the preceding evening, being to all appearance very highly charged with electric fire, confirmed me in this opinion; yet, as far as I can afcertain, and I have diligently inquired of various perfons who were out, and in fituations where they had a confiderable extent of view, no meteor, nor light whatever, was feen hereabout at any time that night. Thofe in bed (as I have already related) felt themselves lifted up, and fhaken. From this circumftance, one is led to imagine the cause of the earthquake to have been within the earth; yet, all the circumftances confidered, I incline to think fome violent concuffion in the air occafioned it. The blaft (whatever was the cause of it) was undoubtedly in the air. The very heavy fall of fnow during the night Seems a fingular circumftance; it might be accidental, yet I feel a bias to think

it fo far connected with the cause of the earthquake, as to have been the refult of a fudden and extraordinary change in the atmosphere, brought about by fome electric agency; and that it was a collateral effect of the caufe (be that caufe what it may) which occafioned the earthquake.

I have been, fince the earthquake, on the eaftern fide of Derbyshire; it was felt there very fmartly. I remark that most places in high fituations were fhaken with more violence than than thofe in flat countries; for inftance, in Derbyshire; at the bare racks near Nottingham; and in the villages which, in the fouth direction, bound this vale,'

The other account from Nottinghamfhire is given by Dr. Storer, in the following letter, dated Nottingham, March 12, 1796.

On the 18th of November laft, at eleven o'clock at night, a very smart › shock of an earthquake was felt in this town and neighbourhood. It was : preceded by a ncife, which appeared to me like that of dancing in the room over that in which I fat, accompanied by a clattering of the furniture; and beginning, as feemed to me, at the northeast, and paffing to the fouthweft corner of the room. To others the reverfe of this appeared to be the direction; but all who attended to the circumftance of direction, attribute to it a fouthe ly and northerly course; and every perfon, whether within or. out of doors, referred the noife to fomething above their own fituation. I think the noife continued about. three feconds, and was inftantly fuc-: ceeded by the shock; which was fo confiderable and alarming as to give me the idea of an carthquake, from the moment of its commencement, and to make me imagine that I faw, as well as felt, an elevation of the hearth, on which my feet refted as Į fat; but which was not found to be difplaced, in respect to furrounding objects. That the walls of the room fuffered a confiderable concuffion was

evident, from the vibration of the window fhutters, pictures, and every other pendulous object in the room.

I had gueffed the duration of the fhock itself to be four seconds; but a friend of mine (who had experienced fimilar fhocks in Carolina) allured me that, after the first impulfe, he had time to look at his watch, and to count four feconds before its termination in his opinion, the duration of the fhock could not be less than five feconds and a half. Such was the violence of it, that (though no mate rial damage happened to the buildings) most people in this town and neighbourhood, who were asleep, were awaked; and many fo fuddenly and completely as to be confcious of having experienced an earthquake.

Nothing connected with this object has furprised me fo much as the extreme difparity of the fenfations communicated by the fhock to different people, in the fame room, and in all refpects fimilarly circumftanced. Every perfon equally heard the noife, and had their attention awakened by it; yet fome felt the fhock in an alarming degree, while others, at the diftance of a few yards, perceived nothing but the noife, and the rattling of the furniture; a few felt fome thing like an electrical fhock, and nothing elfe.

Though there are many millponds, canal refervoirs, and other confiderable pieces of water, in this county, which would have been liable to untoward accidents from any material agitation or elevation of their furfaces, I do not find that any fuch thing was obferved.

As it is unufual for workmen to be in the coal mines at that hour of the night, I have heard of but one inftance where that was the cafe. In one of the mines there were a man and a boy; the former felt nothing; the boy, who was nearer the fhaft, perceived a rumbling, which he fupposed to be at the top of the fhaft, but felt no fhock.

.

* I have feen few people here who were in the treets, or without doors, at the moment the earthquake happened, and of these no one perceived any light in the heavens; but it is reported that a light was feen by the paffengers in fome of the coaches; and a very inteliigent gentleman of Derby told me that, being in the ftreet, he perceived, at the inftant of the concuffion, a remakable corufcation, proceeding from the fouthweft quarter of the heavens, (which he could not then fee) and producing a gleam fimilar to a diftant flash of lightning, but of longer continuance. Others, at Derby, faw the fame thing through their windows.

In every direction, to the diftance of twenty-five miles at least from this place, the fhock was felt with equal force; beyond that diftance, my in formation is too inaccurate to be stated here.

The ftate of the atmosphere that. accompanied this phænomenon is fcarcely leís remakable than the earthquake itfelf. In the night of the 17th it had blown with fome violence from the fouthweft; in the morning the gale increased, and at eleven o'clock blew a tempeft, accompanied with very dark denfe clouds, and with a greater degree of warmth, or rather fultrinefs, than I ever recollect to have fe't in November, when there was no funfhine. About mid-day there fell a heavy rain, for an hour; after which the wind abated, the clouds difpersed, and at fix o'clock it was a ferene calm evening. At the moment of the earthquake it was perfectly ftill, and continued fo at one o'clock in the morning, with the fame degree of warmth that had prevailed in the day. At eight o'clock the following morning it froze intenfely, and the ground was covered with fnow.

It being very generally agreed to refer the moit formidable earthquakes to fubterraneous caufes, it may be thought unphilofophical to fearch for caufes of a different order from those