The Sun.
London, England, 1868-11-03 00:00:00

THE EARTHQUAKE.

The greatest shock of the earthquake seems to have
occurred in Wales and the western counties. One
correspondent at Hereford says : "My chair for an
instant shook violently, and I perceived what I might
have taken for a furious blast of wind, but it was instan-
taneous, and it seemed to come from the earth rather
than from the air. The wind was somewhat gusty. The
sky is as nearly clear, except when there was a dark bank
of clouds in the south-west. . . . This shock was not
violent, nor did it seem to last so long, as that which affected
a considerable area in the South of England early in the
morning of October 6, 1863. On that occasion I was
awakened from my sleep with the impression that a stack
of chimneys on one side of my room had fallen down, and
that I should see the wall opposite to my bed crack
open." At Worcester, we are informed, there was
a gentle up and down motion without sound,
while from Cardiff we are informed that the
shock was accompanied by a low rumbling sound which
caused an apprehension that a colliery explosion had
occurred. At Broseley, in Shropshire, two distinct shocks
were noted, each lasting about six or seven seconds. A
corespondent writing from Sherborne, Dorsetshire,
describes the event there thus : " It appeared as if the
building had been suddenly upheaved by something rolling
underneath from north to south, and that it gave a little
shake on settling down again." From Somersetshire we
learn that the vibration was so great as to cause bedsteads
to rock. The shock also extended to the midland districts.
Reports from various parts of Leicestershire speak of many
persons having experienced a slight undulatory movement.
Several persons in Leicester, who at first attributed the
shock to explosion, speak of the window frames and various
things in their houses rattling so violently as to disturb
them from their slumbers, while china and glass jingled
on the shelves. The shock was distinctly felt in and around
Nottingham. A resident in an elevated position on "the
Forest," once part of Sherwood, states that about half-past
10 o'clock he felt the bed move under him, and, in conse•
quence, jumped up instantly, when he found that his brothers
had been aroused by the same shock. Other persons living
in the same locality distinctly felt the vibration. Several
houses were shaken, and numbers of people were awakened
out of their sleep. At Marlborough the shock was so
severe as to give a sensible and in some cases a violent
concussion to chairs and tables, and to awake persons who
were sleeping. At Rugby and Faringdon the vibration
was perceived, and, approaching the metropolis, we are
informed by a gentleman residing at Weybridge-common
that the earthquake wave caused some furniture in his
bedroom to vibrate ; and, coming still nearer to London,
a correspondent at Blackheath writes : "My daughters
came down from their beds in the greatest
alarm, and said that they had their beds shaken under
them, and that they were convinced it was an earthquake.
A servant in the house, who was also in bed, stated that
she had felt the same shaking, and each of them from the
sensations experienced a feeling of sickness." The general
conclusion is that the shock or shocks (for some speak of
one and others of two shocks) were felt in all the counties of
Wales, in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, the western and
several of the midland counties. One gentleman noticed
them in the Isle of Wight. We have no information of
the event being noticed to the eastwardof the metropolis.