The Express.
London, England, 1853-09-20 00:00:00

GREECE.

THE EARTHQUAKE AT THEBES.
Our own correspondent writes :
ATHENS, Srxr. 7.
In my recent communication respecting the disas-
trous shock of earthquake felt at Thebes on the
18th of August I supplied as much inf rmation as the
prevailing excitement would allow me to autherti-
cate as well as collect. Believing that the English
public will be desirous to know something more of
an event not of every-day occurrence I send you
the result of the investigation instituted by order of
the government.
On the morning of the 18th ult. two terrestrial
shccke, so feeble that many of the inhabitants of
Thebes were not sensible of them, announced the
catastrophe which was shortly to follow. The
weather was calm, the air pure, the temperature soft
and somewhat humid, the people were gay, and all
contributed to augment the eclat of the religious fes-
tival which was to be celebrated, when suddenly, at
half-past 11, a terrible noise, followed immediately
by a violent trembling, filled the inhabitants with
alarm. The people, not knowing what to do,
ran out of their houses or jumped out of
their windows. 'the continuance of the trembling
of the soil, the noise of falling houses, and the thick
clouds of dust which rapidly enveloped the whole ,1
town, increased the prevailing terror. The most dis-
mal wailing's were heard from all points, and by a
general instinct the people ran out of the town.
When the violence of the trembling had ceased, and
the cloud of dust was dissipated, the inhabitants took
courage and returned to ascertain the extent and re-
sults of the terrible phenomenon which they had wit-
nessed. It was found that all the houses of the town
of Thebes and of the faubourg of Peri had been ren-
dered uninhabitable. Many of them had been en-
. .

tirely destroyed, and covered the remains of their
former occupants. Some of the churches were pros-
trate; of others, the walls presented immense
yawning gaps.
The great aqueduct of the town was considerably
injured, allowing the water to escape at many points,
and all the fountains were rendered muddy for four-
and•twenty hours.
The principal shock was succeeded by several
others during the same and the following day. Citizens
worthy of credit enumerate more than twenty which
were kit on the night of the 19th —2oth of August.
On the 20th also the government commissioner
counted six shocks which were perceptible between
half-past three in the afternoon and ten in the even-
ing. On the 21st another shock proved the con-
tinued activity of the disturbing force. It was
observed that the loudness of the subterranean noise
was also in direct ratio with the strength of the
shock which followed it.

To believe the statements of persons who allege
that they verified the fact by watching the falling of
stones from the reeling houses, the impulse of the
shock was always perpendicular. In point of fact,
all the houses fell directly on their foundations with-
out inclining to any particular point of the compass.
It is worthy of note that no disengagement of gas
was remarked, neither any sinking or rupture of the
soil • no new springs. were exposed, nor were those
already existing diminished. Such is the account
given by Dr. Orphandis, a physician of Beotia, in his
report to the government.

The Prefect of the same province says that he can
without hesitation determine the locality affected by
the shock to be the extent of country terminated on
the north by Mount Atlante, on the east by the
Gulf of Enbcea, on the south by the river Asopue,
and on the west by Lake C.opais. The cen-
tral point of the impulse, or that at which
it was felt with greatest force, was Mount Ptoo ;
under which is a gulf of Lake Copois ; in these rocks
of considerable magnitude have been detached and
thrown down.

It appears that so lately as the 27th ult. the earth
gave such signs
.of uneasiness that the inhabitants
had no heart for attempting to restore the town. The
Thebes of to•dav is a modern town. It was so
ruined in the war of independence that scarcely one
stone was left upon another. Its reconstruction dates
from 1833. At the present moment there is not a
house left uninjured, hundreds have fallen, and the
ruin is not at an end. The government has sent aid
in money, tents, medicine, and doctors. Eleven
corpses have been taken out of the ruins. The
bodies bore no trace of wounds or other marks of
violence, and the physicians suppose that the deceased
died of asphyxia. Nineteen persons were dug out
alive, and are doing well. Intermittent fever has
been very prevalent since the catastrophe.
The extent of the mischief done to the buildings
of Thebes cannot yet be stated with statistical exac-
titude, but, considering the superior density of
its population, some idea of the terrible character
of the disaster may be gained from the returns
of damage done to the neighbouring communes. In
the commune of Platte, two churches, a church
tower, and 16 houses have fallen. In the commune
of Aulyde, two churches and 23 houses have fallen,
and those which remain hang in] the air. In the
commune of Akrefnion 12 houses have fallen
and two churches have been laid open. A rock de-
tached from a mountain near Kokino, in this com-
mune, rolled down to the village, where fortunately
it stopped. In the commune of Thespiens, the ham-
let of Morokambo has been completely obliterated.
At Erimocastro, the dwellings of sixty families have
been laid in ruins. In the commune of Tanagra,
26 houses have been destroyed. These figures are
irrespective of numberless houses rent in twain,
many of them from roof to floor. It is needless to
say that years must elapse before the havoc made
in the district can be repaired. Indeed, it is doubtful
whether any resource but emigration to a more solid
terrain remains to its inhabitants.

ANOTHER ESCAPE FROM CARLISLE CASTLE.—On
Tuesday night, not long after the shutting of the eastle
gates,
.one of the privates, of the 48th Foot, quartered
there—a very young fellow—escaped over the wall at the
aouth-west corner, by letting himself down by a rope tied
to one of the spikes set up to prevent such operations. The
youth was soon pursued by the picket, and took refuge in
the Willow Holzer. There he had bid himself in a long,
dark passage, which, being narrow, enabled him to lift
himself up, and sustain himself by dint of arms and
knees. This passage some of the soldiers entered in pur-
suit, actually passing bctween the runaway's legs, with rut
discovering him' As soon as they left the deserter quitted
his hiding place, some of the " natives " aiding him, and he
got clear off.