“ Some had broken their cables, and were carried to the other side of the Tagus, others were whirled round with incredible swiftness, several large boats were turned keel upwards; and all this without any wind. It was at this time that the new quay, built of rough marble, was entirely swallowed up with all the people on it, who had fled there for safety, and had reason to consider themselves out of danger. ”

“ The number of persons that perished, including those who were burnt or were afterwards crushed to death whilst digging in the ruins, is supposed on the lowest calculation to have amounted to more than sixty thousand. This extensive and opulent city was nothing but a vast heap of ruins; the rich and poor were all upon a level, and some thousands of families, who but the day before, had been easy in their circumstances, were scattered in the fields wanting every convenience, and finding none able to relieve them. ”

“ It is imagined that seven-eights of the houses in this city are demolished, and of those which still stand there are not perhaps twenty that will be found tenable. The customhouse, which was built very strong, is not much injured—the house which I occupy is three stories high, and was likewise very strong—it stood the shock without falling, but it was so much injured that I do not intend to sleep in it, especially as we are continually kept in a state of alarm by the frequent shocks which have daily taken place ever since the 26th ult. ”

“ Last night, a few minutes before eleven o’clock, a shock of an earthquake was most distinctly felt here, which had the effect of seriously alarming many families; and many who were in bed were awakened by the concussion, Those who had newly retired to rest were most sensible of the shock, as they felt their beds move, first in a horizontal direction, and then back to the former situation ”

“ Aleppo, one of the most beautiful citics of the Turkish cmpire, containing 40,000 houses and 200,000 inhabitants, has been visited by an earthquake resembling those which laid waste Lisbon and Cumbria, in the last century.
The first and most severe shock occurred on the 13th of August, 1822, about ten in the evening, and instantly buried thousands of the inhabitants under the ruins of their clegant mansions of stone, some which deserve the name of palaces. Several other shocks succeeded, and even on the 16th, shocks were still experienced, some of which were sevcre. ”

“ Among thcm is one of the best men in the city, the Imperial Consul-General, the Chevalier Esdras V Piecotto.—Having escaped the danger of being buried under the ruins of his own house he hastened with some of his family towards the gate of the city; but as he was passing a Khan, a new shock occurred, and a wall fell down, which buried him and those with him. Tartars who have arrived at Constantinople from Damascus, report that they saw the whole population of Aleppo encamped in the environs. ”

“ A few minutes latter, 4500 houses, 19 churches and convents, together with all the public buildings, monuments, &c. were crushed to atoms by a sudden shoke of an earthquake, which did not last a minute, and burried thousands of its inhabitants in ruins and desolation. ”

“ Perhaps you may think the subject concluded: but, alas! the horrors of this day are enough to fill a volume. As soon as it grew dark in the evening, another scene presented itself, little less shocking than those already described. ”

“ In some houses the chairs and tables were moved backwards and forewards, and even the bells set a-ringing. Birds in cages were thrown down from the sticks on which they perched, and exhibited evident signs of fear. A hollow rumbling noise was heard by different indivduals, which seemed to die away in the west. The air at the time was clear and serene. Similar effects were perceived, about the same time, at Dunkeld, in the Carse of Gowrie, and Strathearn. ”

“ The great number of unburied bodies, in this extremely hot period of the year, has produced pestilential effluvia, and obliged the unfortunate inhabitants to seek for refuge in some remote district.
Naturalists have remarked that the earthquake at Aleppo was preceded and followed nearly at the same time by other earthquakes at immense distances. In (illegible text) lition to those of Carlstadt, in Sweden; and Dan (illegible text) in England; an earthquake happened on the (illegible text) of August, in Siberia. ”

“ I have only further to remark, that it was not attended with any of those phenomena that have been said to accompany earthquakes. The day Had been beautiful and serene,and still continues so; no agitations or raising was observable in the river; and it has been frequently observed, that in countries subject to these awful visitations, the mercury suddenly falls in the barometer ”

“ They began from north to south, and then took a direction from east to west. The shock continued for forty seconds. The quarter in which the houses of the Consuls are situated has suffered the most. A (illegible text) part of the city lies in ruins. Several villages i (illegible text) environs are wholly destroyed. Of the little town Gibelette three-fourths are destroyed. Its harbour is chocked up by the ruins of the houses that (illegible text) fallen into it. Three hundred persons have lost lives on this occasion.
EARTHQUAKE AT COMRIE ”