Page:The Philosophy of Earthquakes, Natural and Religious.djvu/75

Rh I receiv’d a letter from my friend Maurice Johnſon, Eſq.; the founder, and ſecretary, of the Literary Society of Spalding; which has now ſubſiſted theſe 40 years. He acquaints me, that on thurſday, 23d of Auguſt laſt, an earthquake was very ſenſibly felt there, about ſeven o’clock in the morning; throughout the whole town and neighbourhood; and many miles round: but that it chiefly ſpread itſelf northward, and ſouthward. He ſays, that for a fortnight before, the weather had been ſerene, mild, and calm. And one evening, there was a deep red aurora auſtralis, covering the cope of heaven, very terrible to behold. This ſame ſhock was felt at Grantham, Stamford, and Milton by Peterborough; and generally at all the intermediate places: and from Spalding it fled northward, along the ſea ſhore, to Boſton: thence up Boſton river, to Lincoln.

Since then, I had a letter from Mr. Alderman Taylor of Stamford, giving an account of another earthquake, that happen’d there, ſeptember 30, at 36 minutes after twelve o’clock at noon. He deſcribes it thus. They were ſuddenly ſurpriſed with an uncommon noiſe in the air, like the rolling of large carriages in the ſtreets, for about 20 ſeconds. At the ſame inſtant they felt a great ſhake, or ſnap, as he calls it; inſomuch that it ſenſibly ſhook a punch-bowl, which was in his parlour, and made