afforded by the ruins around them.

Those which had preserved by a miThe cathedral was

efcaped this deftruction appeared as if racle, torn and rent as they were. among the number of thefe fortunate edifices. This is a fpacious building, of Gothic architecture. Its interior has fuffered little or no damage. It is embellished with a number of columns of granite, brought from an ancient Grecian temple, which once ftood on the Faro (or Strait of Meffina), and with elegant Mofaic work, wrought with the moft beautiful jafpers of Sicily. The deftruction of fo great a number of houses as were thrown down by this dreadful earthquake, obliged the people of Meffina to take refuge in wooden fheds built for the occafion, many of which were ftill ftanding when I was there. They had begun, however, to rebuild the houses, but on a different plan from the old ones. They had obferved that the highest had fuffered moft, and that in the violent fhocks of the earthquake, the beams, by continually and forcibly beating against the walls, had completed the ruin of the edifice. They therefore resolved to build them lower, and to conftruct the wood-work in fuch a manner, that in case of a fimilar visitation, the shock should be fuftained by the whole of the building, and not by a part only. This precaution, it is evident, must be of the greatest utility, should the city again fuffer a calamity of this nature.

"Though it was now nearly the fixth year fince that dreadful difafter, confiderable remains of the dread, confternation, and, I may say, ftupefaction, which usually accompany great terrors, were ftill manifeft in the minds of the people at Meffina. They had ftill present in their memory all the circumftances of that dreadful time; nor could I listen to the narrative they gave of them without shuddering.

"That ancient city, which had fo repeatedly fuffered, was not destroyed by one but feveral earthquakes, which lafted, in fucceffive fhocks, from the 5th to the 7th of Feb

ruary,

OF EARTHQUAKES.

35

ruary, 1783. The most deftructive was that of the 5th; but an interval of fome minutes elapfing between the first and fecond fhocks, the inhabitants had time to quit their houses, and fly to the open plain. Hence the number of those who were killed was not proportionate to the quantity of ruins. They did not exceed eight hundred.

"In a memoir relative to the earthquakes in that part of Calabria oppofite to Meflina, which happened at the fame time, it is faid that before the first fhock, the dogs in the city began to howl violently, and were killed by a public order. On my enquiring of the people of the country, they affured me that the fact was falfe, and that no other phænomenon preceded this calamity but the flight of the fea-mews and fome other birds from the fea to the mountains, as they ufually do on the approach of a tempeft. A very violent noise, resembling that of a number of carriages rattling over a stone bridge, was the firft fymptom; while at the fame time a thick cloud arofe from Calabria, which was the centre of the earthquake, the propagation of which was fucceffively apparent by the fall of buildings from the point of the Faro to the city of Meffina, as if at that point a mine had been fired, which extended along the fhore, and continued into the city. The fhock was moft violent, and the motion extremely irregular. In no part were any fire or sparks obferved. The ground along the fhore opened in fiffures parallel to it; and though, in fome places, these continued more than a month, the dread and confternation with which every one was feized prevented any attempt to measure them. After the first fhock, which, as we have faid, took place about noon, on the 5th of February, the earth continued inceffantly to tremble, fometimes with a flighter, and fometimes a more violent motion; till, at eight the following night, another tremendous shock, which was fatal to the people of Scilla, completed the de

ftruction

ftruction of the remainder of the fabrics of Meffina. The earthquakes did not cease till the 7th, when another dreadful shock spent its rage upon the ruins."

The Surprizing Recovery of JOHN FAULKER, an Infant of Six Years old, who was apparently Dead for fome Time; as attefted by Mr. TOBIAS BROWNE, in the following Letter to the Directors of the Royal Humane Society.

"GENTLEMEN,

Camberwell, March 15.

HAVING, a few days fince, under Divine Providence, been the inftrument of restoring to life a child of fix years old, under very fingular circumftances, I am induced to annex the cafe for the confideration of yourselves, as the Directors of the Royal Humane Society. If my conduct fhould have the happiness to merit your approbation, it will greatly add to one of the proudeft days of my life.

I am, &c.

TOBIAS BROWNE.

"CASE.-It being my intention to avoid prolixity, and confine myself to a concise statement of the direct fact; I shall begin with informing you, gentlemen, that the uncle of the child, after a fervitude of nine years at Bath, was discharged from the family, in confequence of his mind being deranged (the effect of a severe illnefs); upon which he came up to his brother, John Faulker, No. 15, Adamftreet, Mary-le-Bonne, for protection and fupport, which were kindly afforded him. On Monday afternoon, the 10th inftant, he quitted the house, taking with him his brother's fon, a child of fix years old, and ftrayed to Camberwell and its environs. The child, being exhausted with fatigue, as alfo in want of nutriment, expofed to the cold and a heavy rain, became unable to walk; he, therefore, took him up, and threw him over his back, fufpending

JOHN FAULKER.

37

him by the heels. In this fituation they were difcovered, in the high road, by the watchman, about four o'clock on Tuesday morning. The man being remonftrated with, he changed the pofition of the child, took him into his arms, and went away. About fix the fame morning, he was feen near the Red Cap, on Camberwell- reen, by Mr. Spencer, a bricklayer of the village, with the child again fufpended at his back, apparently dead. This unusual fight induced him to call fome of his neighbours to his aid; and the man being taken into cuftody with the apparently lifeless child to the public house, where (very much to the credit of Mr. Okines, who keeps it) the body was received with the utmost huma nity and tender concern. It being deemed expedient to fend for the parochial beadle, Mr. Rickwood attended; and, on examining the body, which was laid upon one of the tap-room tables, to all appearance dead, he gave charge of the man to Mr. Okines and the perfons prefent, coming himself for me to infpect the corpfe, and give my opinion thereon. It was half paft feven when I got there, and examined the apparent dead child.

"State of the body-His extremities cold; his eyes fixed; the arterial circulation gone; vitality apparently extinct.-Under fuch depreffed circumftances, there could be hardly a hope entertained of re-animation; however, I determined to attempt it according to the methods and by the means. prescribed in the formula of our most excellent inftitution. The refufcitative process was moft affiduously employed for full thirty minutes before the leaft figns of life could be difcovered; at length a feeble and irregular pulfation was produced; which continuing gradually to get ftronger, I infinuated a small quantity of volatile spirits into the stomach, which brought on repeated fpafms of a very short duration. From that time the powers of life increafing, an irregular convulfive motion of the extremities came on; foon after which he rapidly recovered, and was taken in hot flannels. VOL. I. No. 1.

F

to

to the workhouse, where he received fome proper nourish ment and humane attention; he then flept near an hour and a half, when, waking greatly relieved, he again took refreshment, and was foon after conveyed to his friends, who had been in the most painful state of mind respecting both him and his uncle. The parental feelings on this occafion may be conceived, but not easily described.

TOBIAS BROWNE."

The INVISIBLE GIRL, concealed in a GLASS CHEST. A mof extraordinary article, extracted from the French journal the Gæ zette de France; and which is particularly entitled to the attention of our Readers, from the refpe&able name of the Abbé Sicard, the preceptor of the deaf and dumb, which appears fubfcribed to the first letter.

"CITIZEN,

Paris, Feb. 21, 1800.

You are undoubtedly not yet acquainted with the extraor

dinary experiment which is publicly displayed in No. 40, in the street of the priests of St. Germaine l'Auxerrois, fince you have not made any mention of it in your journal, in which you are careful to infert every thing which can intereft, not only politicians, but also thofe who cultivate the fciences, learning, and the arts. I think that I fhall conform to your wishes, by recounting what I have seen, and in detailing the sentiments which I have felt on this occafion. In a small chamber of this houfe, in the third ftory, and within a grated circumference, is feen a cheft of white glafs, fufpended to the ceiling by four little chains, which keep it perfectly separated from every other body. This cheft is transparent, and penetrable to the eye in its whole extent. To one of its extremities is adapted an opaque tube of horn, by which a voice is heard, which appears to be that of a young girl, who replies diftinctly to every queftion put to her. The impreffion of breathing, and the heat of the air of refpiration impregnated with the odour of liquors which

the