EARTHQUAKE.

149

My departed friend, General Colletta, who visited tliescene of the catastrophe, and conversed with many respect-able arid trustworthy of the survivors, has fully authenti-cated the only few facts which I shall give my readers,leaving apart the voluminous details which have appearedin numerous vehicles of public information.

On the occurrence of the first great shock, nothing parti-cular appeared, either in the heavens or on the earth, tocause fear or suspicion. But at the instant of danger, stu-pefaction seemed to seize upon the victims, so as in manycases to deprive them of the power even of flight. Onthe return of reason and reflection, the first feeling was adegree of joy in self-preservation, hut this was speedilyoverwhelmed by the agonizing sight of the overthrownhouses—and wives, and children, and fathers, and brothers,buried under the ruins. Miserable was the hope that flashedacross the minds of the wretched who were unhurt! Inca-pable of removing the mass of heavy ruins, they wereobliged to hope, that those dear relations had rather ceasedto live, than that they should be suffering a lingering andexcruciating struggle for life. Thousands of fathers andmothers were seen in frantic anxiety running to and froamongst the ruins that covered the objects of their affec-tions—imploring the aid of passers-by—and then, in utterdespair, casting themselves exhausted on the hard heaps ofstones, and there remaining till friends, or relatives, orcasual observers would force them from their death-likeprostration of body and mind. As it is ever usual withsuffering humanity, and as it most likely was in the earlyperiods of human society, the then more frequent volcaniceruptions, earthquakes, inundations, &c., concomitant to themore juvenile expansive state of this our globe, caused mento place these evils at the door of some malignant demons orof gods, all prone to mischief and delighting in the pains ofmortals—so did the Calabrians offer up prayers and vows to