Page:Great Neapolitan Earthquake of 1857.djvu/400

316 centre of gravity, would have sufficed to prevent its overturn, unless by a velocity greater than that assigned, by more than the difference as above.

Everything at Polla consentingly proved a wave-path of steep emergence, and from the north, or very nearly. The result, united with my observations in the upper part of the valley of the Tanagro, proved that the wave-path, as detemined at Naples, either belonged to a separate focus altogether, or must have some complicated relation of disturbance, by reflection or otherwise, with the focus I was looking for, and which it now began to appear, I should find somewhere to the north, and not very far east or west of the meridian I was then upon. I therefore dismissed from my thoughts for the time the irreconcileable phenomena at Naples, leaving it to further observation to solve the apparent enigma.

The Judice of Polla, Signore Ferdinando Ganuzzi, politely accompanied me over the place. He had been at Polla on the night of the earthquake. According to his statement, confirmed by that of the Syndic, and others of the town, they were suddenly alarmed by the rushing sound, "Mormorio buccihaute rapidamente;" and almost instantly, while it yet was heard, the first great shock came—"sussultatorio," succeeded in a very few seconds afterwards—how much they could not say, probably 10″ to 20″—by another movement, that some of them habitually spoke of as a second shock, which was "undulatorio." But there was no such distinct interval of quiet, and arrival of a second shock, both being oscillatory, as was felt at Naples. The Syndic was on the second floor of his own house, which did not fall immediately; the first