134 TRANSITORY IMPRESSIONS.

three times at about eight minutes’ distance with three such shocks
as would have overturned the strongest building that could be
supposed to have stood on the earth; and a great piece of the top
of a rock, which stood about half a mile from me next the sea, fell
down with such a terrible noise as I never heard in all my life. I
perceived also the very sea was put into violent motion by it, and
I believe the shocks were stronger under the water than on the
island.

Twas so amazed with the thing itself

 

having never felt the like
or discoursed with any one that had—that I was like one dead or
stupified ; and the motion of the earth made my stomach sick, like
one that was tossed at sea. But the noise of the falling of the rock
awaked ine, as it were, and rousing ime from the stupified condition
I was in, filled me with horror, and I thought of nothing then but
the hill falling upon my tent and all my household goods, and bury-
ing all at once; and this sank my very soul within me a second
time.

After the third shock was over, and T felt no more for some
tune, I began to take courage; and yet I had not heart enough
to go over my wall again, for fear of being buried alive, but sat
still upon the ground, greatly cast down and disconsolate, not know-
ing what to do. All this while I had not the least serious religious
thought, nothing but the common “ Lord, have mercy upon ine;”
and when it was over, that went away too.

While I sat thus, I found the air overcast and grow cloudy, as if
it would rain. Soon after that the wind rose by little and little,
so that in less than half an hour it blewa most dreadful hurricane.
The sea was all on a sudden covered over with foam and froth, the
shore was covered with the breach of the water, the trees were
torn up by the roots, and a terrible storm it was; and this held
about three hours and then began to abate, and in two hours more
it was stark calm and began to rain very hard. F

All this while I sat upon the ground very much terrified and
dejected, when on a sudden it came into my thoughts that these
winds and rain being the consequences of the earthquake, the earth-
quake itself was spent and over, and I might venture into my cave
again. With this thought my spirits began to revive, and the